Three Finger Sanitary Glove

ABSTRACT

A disposable, three finger sanitary glove is provided that can be used to handle unsanitary or soiled items. The glove has a body portion, a thumb cover, an index finger cover, and a middle finger cover. The body portion has a palm surface, a rear surface, and a glove opening. The glove opening forms a curved lower edge that extends across the palm and across the backside of the wearer&#39;s hand while leaving exposed the wrist and a portion of the palm. A pull tab is provided for efficiently donning and doffing the glove using an opposite hand. In one embodiment, moisture absorbent material is provided along the glove opening and/or along the palm surface. Other embodiments contemplate textured finger cover surfaces for improved grip. Overall, the glove provides an efficient hand covering for short term use while handling unsanitary or soiled items.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/186,452 filed on Jun. 30, 2015. The above identified patentapplication is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety toprovide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to gloves and hand coverings that allowthe wearer to handle unsanitary items without direct contact with thewearer's hand. More specifically, the present invention relates to adisposable sanitary glove that covers the thumb, forefinger, and middlefinger to allow the wearer to pinch and support objects with atemporarily covered hand. The disposable glove is shaped to be easilydoffed and donned, be distributed for public use, and sized to minimizematerial waste.

Medical gloves and sanitary gloves exist for shielding the wearer's handand preventing cross-contamination between the wearer and anotherobject. These devices form a layer over the wearer's hands that formfits to the wearer's fingers, thumb, hand, and wrist, and are usefuldevices in several fields. The present invention provides a new sanitaryglove that is suited for mass distribution and one-time use, whereby aportion of the wearer's hand is shrouded while the user handlesunsanitary items, such as feminine hygiene items, soiled items, andother items that may have contamination, waste, or bodily fluidsthereon.

One particular use that is contemplated is handling feminine hygieneproducts after use. A disposable hand covering device is desired thatimproves sanitary handling of these items in different environments, andone that does not require the user the don a full medical or sanitaryglove beforehand. Therefore, an easily donned and doffed sanitary gloveis desired that covers a portion of the wearer's hand such that the usercan readily handle unsanitary items.

The present invention provides a three finger glove that covers thethumb, forefinger, and middle finger of the wearer, and covers a portionof the wearer's palm. The opening of the glove extends across thewearer's palm and across the back of the wearer's hand, thereby allowingthe glove to be readily applied and removed before and after use. Theglove is disposable and readily deployable in public restrooms or othersuitable environments. Along the opening is a pull tab to assist donningand doffing, while absorbent material may be provided along the openingand along the palm to absorb moisture and prevent contamination of thewearer's exposed hand. Overall, the three finger glove of the presentinvention is simple and an efficient solution for handling unsanitaryitems while in different environments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following summary is intended solely for the benefit of the readerand is not intended to be limiting in any way. The present inventionprovides a new sanitary glove that can be utilized for providingconvenience for the user when handling soiled or unsanitary items usinga disposable hand cover.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved sanitary glove that has all of the advantages of the prior artand none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a sanitaryglove having a structure that forms a three digit covering.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovecomprising a body portion, a thumb cover, an index finger cover, and amiddle finger cover. The thumb cover is adapted to secure over the thumbof the wearer's hand, the index finger cover is adapted to secure overthe index finger of the wearer's hand, and the middle finger cover isadapted to secure over the middle finger of the wearer's hand.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovein which the body portion comprises a palm surface, a rear surface, anda glove opening. The glove opening forms a curved lower edge.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovewherein the curved lower edge extends across the palm of the wearer'shand and along the backside of the wearer's hand when donned, whileleaving exposed the wrist and a portion of the palm.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovecomprising wherein the curved lower edge extends from a base of thethumb and between the middle finger and the ring finger of the wearer'shand.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovefurther comprising a pull tab disposed along the glove opening. The pulltab has a first end affixed to the body portion of the glove and anexposed second end that is adapted to be gripped and pulled by anopposite hand of the wearer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovewherein the pull tab is positioned along the glove opening and thesecond end of the pull tab extends outward from the glove opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovewherein the pull tab is positioned along the palm surface adjacent tothe glove opening, and wherein the second end of the pull tab extendsoutward from the glove opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovethat further comprises a textured grip surface disposed along the thumbcover, the index finger cover, and the middle finger cover.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovein which the textured grip surfaces are disposed along an inner surfaceof each finger cover such that the textured grips of the index fingercover and the middle finger cover oppose the textured grip of the thumbcover when gripping items.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovewherein the three finger glove is composed of a disposable latexmaterial, or of a disposable non-latex material selected from the groupconsisting of nitrile rubber, vinyl, and neoprene.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovefurther comprising an absorbent barrier disposed along the body portionand adjacent to the glove opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovein which the absorbent barrier further comprises a strip of moistureabsorbent material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary glovein which the absorbent barrier extends from the glove opening and isdisposed along the palm surface. Moreover, the moisture absorbentmaterial may additionally extend from the palm surface and along anunderside surface of the thumb cover, the index finger cover, the middlefinger cover.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will beparticularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and mannerin which it may be made and used may be better understood after a reviewof the following description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a view of the sanitary glove of the present invention in aworking state, donned on the hand of a wearer.

FIG. 2A shows a view of an embodiment of the sanitary glove of thepresent invention in a working state.

FIG. 2B shows another embodiment of the sanitary glove of the presentinvention in a working state.

FIG. 3 shows a view highlighting the textured grips along the ends ofthe index finger and middle finger coverings.

FIG. 4 illustrates the sanitary glove of the present invention beingremoved from the hand of the wearer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like referencenumerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similarelements of the sanitary glove of the present invention. For thepurposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the presentinvention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as providing athree finger glove that allows the user to don a disposable handcovering when handling unsanitary or soiled material. The figures areintended for representative purposes only and should not be consideredto be limiting in any respect.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there are shown views of the sanitaryglove of the present invention in a working state, donned on a wearer'shand. The sanitary glove forms a three finger glove that covers thethumb 61, index finger (forefinger) 62, and middle finger 63 of thewearer's hand, while also covering a portion of the wearer's palm 65.The glove is useful for temporary covering the wearer's hand whilehandling unsanitary or soiled items, whereafter the glove can bedisposed of. Since the glove covers only three digits and a portion ofthe wearer's hand, the glove is more efficiently donned and doffed, andminimizes unnecessary material used for forming a temporary glove.

Specifically, the glove comprises a body portion 25, a thumb cover 21,an index finger cover 22, and a middle finger cover 23. The thumb cover21 is adapted to secure over the thumb 61 of a wearer's hand. The indexfinger cover 22 is adapted to secure over the index finger 62 of thewearer's hand. And, the middle finger cover 23 is adapted to secure overthe middle finger 63 of the wearer's hand. The body portion 25 has apalm surface 19, a rear surface 18, and a glove opening 40 that extendsacross the wearer's palm 65 and across the backside 68 of the wearer'shand. The glove opening 40 forms a curved lower edge that is configuredto extend across the palm 65 of the wearer's hand and along the backside68 of the wearer's hand when donned, leaving exposed the wrist 66 and aportion of the palm. This allows three digits of the wearer's hand to bequickly covered such that the user can quickly grasp items using theindex and middle finger against the opposing thumb.

The curved lower edge of the glove opening 40 extends across thewearer's palm 65 and across the backside 65 of the wearer's hand to forma partial hand covering and three digit glove. The glove opening 40 isformed such that its curved lower edge extends from a base 67 of thethumb, across the palm 65, between 65 the middle finger 63 and the ringfinger 64, and across the backside 68 of the wearer's hand. A portion ofthe wearer's palm 65 is covered adjacent to the thumb 61, index finger62, and middle finger 63, while a portion of the palm 65 is exposedafter the glove has been full donned. The glove opening 40 may furthercomprise an elastic lower edge or other suitable structure to maintainthe position of the opening 40 across the hand of the wearer. Below thethumb covering, the body portion 25 of the glove leaves the wrist of thehand partially exposed, while the lower portion of the opening extendssubstantially across or adjacent to the anatomical snuff box and alongthe base of the thumb. Similarly, the upper portion of the openingextends across the finger webbing between the middle 63 and ring 64fingers (i.e. across the plica interdigitalis or across the interdigitalfolds between these fingers).

To assist donning and doffing the glove on the wearer's hand, the glovemay further comprise a pull tab 70 disposed along the glove opening 40.The pull tab 70 has a first end 71 affixed to the body portion 25 of theglove, and an exposed second end 72 that is adapted to be gripped andpulled by an opposite hand of the wearer (see FIG. 4). One or more pulltabs 70 may be positioned along the glove opening 40, allowing the palmsurface 19 of the glove and the backside surface 18 of the glove to bestretched over the wearer's hand. In one embodiment, the pull tab 70 ispositioned along the glove opening 40 and the second end 72 of the pulltab extends outward from the glove opening 40 for improved purchase bythe wearer's opposing hand. The pull tab 70 provides a means to draw theglove onto the wearer's hand and assist when removing the glove, wherebythe glove can be inverted and folded inside out to contain anycontaminates along the outside surface of the glove.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, there are shown embodiments of the glove inwhich the finger covers 21, 22, 23 include textured grip surfaces 80thereon to improve user grip while wearing the glove. The textured gripsurface 80 may completely cover the entire exterior surface of thegloves, or alternatively the grip surfaces 80 may be positioned in onlycertain locations along the glove exterior surface. In one embodiment,and as shown in the drawing views, the textured surfaces 80 may bedisposed only along the thumb cover 21, the index finger cover 22, andthe middle finger cover 22. More specifically, the textured surfaces 80may be present only along the inner surface 13 of each cover thereofsuch that the textured grips 80 of the index finger cover 22 and themiddle finger cover 23 oppose the textured grip 80 of the thumb cover 21when gripping items. In particular, the grips 80 may be provided onlyalong the palmer surfaces of the three finger covers, and moreover belimited to covering distal phalanx 15 of each finger cover. This allowsthe opposing fingers and thumb to grip items with a glove surfacethereover that exhibits sufficient friction against the gripped item toprevent slippage or dropping of the held item.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there are shown yet more embodimentsof the sanitary glove of the present invention. In these embodiments,the sanitary glove of the present invention further comprises anabsorbent barrier 90 disposed on the body portion 25 of the glove andextending along the glove opening 40. The absorbent barrier 90 is amoisture absorbent material that extends along the glove opening 40 andis adjacent thereto, whereby the barrier 90 absorbs moisture and otherliquid contaminants that may be present on the exterior surface of theglove. In one embodiment, the absorbent barrier 90 is preferably araised layer or strip of moisture absorbent material that is disposedadjacent to the glove opening 40. This prevents liquids from travelingalong the glove exterior surface and contacting the exposed portion ofthe wearer's palm 65. The absorbent barrier 90 may extend completelyaround the opening 40 or extend only partially therearound. In anotherembodiment, the moisture absorbing material may extend along the palmsurface of the glove body portion 25. Further still, the moistureabsorbing material may extend from the palm surface along an undersidesurface of the thumb cover 61, the index finger cover 62, the middlefinger cover 63. This larger surface area allows for greater absorbingof moisture when the glove is donned.

The sanitary glove of the present invention is designed as a partialcover for a wearer's hand such that a user can readily don the deviceand grip unsanitary or soiled items without wearing a full glove. Theglove can then be readily removed and disposed of. The material of theglove may be formed of common glove materials used for medical gloves orform-fitting hand coverings, including latex and non-latex materials.Non-latex materials may include nitrile rubber, vinyl, neoprene, orequivalent materials.

Overall, the device protects a wearer's hands when and provides adisposable hand covering adapted to secure over a plurality of fingersand the wearer's thumb. The glove may be deployed or sold for variouspurposes, including both commercial and personal use. Common personaluses include handling feminine hygiene products and soiled items.Commercial uses may include uses in industry or medical fields. Thegloves may be deployed in public places, such as restrooms and the like.Finally, the gloves may be sold individually or in packages that can beeasily transported by a user. Both left and right handed gloves arecontemplated.

It is submitted that the instant invention has been shown and describedin what is considered to be the most practical and preferredembodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be madewithin the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications willoccur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the abovedescription then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensionalrelationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations insize, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assemblyand use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in theart, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in thedrawings and described in the specification are intended to beencompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

I claim: 1) A three finger glove, comprising: a body portion, a thumbcover, an index finger cover, and a middle finger cover; wherein thethumb cover is adapted to secure over the thumb of a wearer's hand;wherein the index finger cover is adapted to secure over the indexfinger of the wearer's hand; wherein the middle finger cover is adaptedto secure over the middle finger of the wearer's hand; the body portionhaving a palm surface, a rear surface, and a glove opening; wherein theglove opening forms a curved lower edge that is configured to extendacross the palm of the wearer's hand and along the backside of thewearer's hand when donned, while leaving exposed the wrist and a portionof the palm. 2) The three finger glove of claim 1, wherein: the curvedlower edge extends from a base of the thumb and between the middlefinger and the ring finger of the wearer's hand. 3) The three fingerglove of claim 1, further comprising: a pull tab disposed along theglove opening; the pull tab having a first end affixed to the bodyportion and an exposed second end that is adapted to be gripped andpulled by an opposite hand of the wearer. 4) The three finger glove ofclaim 3, wherein the pull tab is positioned along the glove opening andthe second end of the pull tab extends outward from the glove opening.5) The three finger glove of claim 3, wherein the pull tab is positionedalong the palm surface adjacent to the glove opening, and wherein thesecond end of the pull tab extends outward from the glove opening. 6)The three finger glove of claim 1, further comprising: textured gripsurfaces disposed along the thumb cover, the index finger cover, and themiddle finger cover. 7) The three finger glove of claim 6, wherein: thetextured grip surfaces are disposed an end of each of the thumb cover,the index finger cover, and the middle finger cover; and wherebytextured grip surfaces are disposed along an inner surface thereof suchthat the textured grips of the index finger cover and the middle fingercover oppose the textured grip of the thumb cover when gripping items.8) The three finger glove of claim 1, wherein the three finger glove iscomposed of a disposable latex material. 9) The three finger glove ofclaim 1, wherein the three finger glove is composed of a disposablenon-latex material selected from the group consisting of nitrile rubber,vinyl, and neoprene. 10) The three finger glove of claim 1, furthercomprising an absorbent barrier disposed along the body portion andadjacent to the glove opening. 11) The three finger glove of claim 10,wherein the absorbent barrier further comprises a strip of moistureabsorbent material. 12) The three finger glove of claim 10, wherein theabsorbent barrier further comprises moisture absorbent material disposedalong the palm surface. 13) The three finger glove of claim 12, whereinthe moisture absorbent material extends from the palm surface along anunderside surface of the thumb cover, the index finger cover, the middlefinger cover.